Welcome to our Meet the Team series, where we look at the lives of various Planit team members from across the company. We caught up with Mike Dear, a consultant with our UK team since 2016, to find out about his background in business analysis, what he likes about his team, and his love of motor sports.

What is your career background?

I got my start in IT in 2000 as a Business Analyst for a large UK financial services FTSE 100 Company. After eight years in that role, I moved into the test function in the same company, progressing over the next seven years from a Test Analyst to a Test Manager after gaining qualifications up to Advanced Test Manager.

I then took a short six-month career break before joining Planit in 2016. Since then, I have progressed from a Senior Test Analyst to Consultant. I’ve mainly worked on various projects for one of Planit’s multinational hotel and restaurant clients, but I’ve also had the chance to work for other clients in other industries.

What are your key areas of expertise?

My key skills are with stakeholder management and client engagement. I have also mainly worked with the financial services, legal, and hospitality/retail sectors during my career.

I have never chosen to specialise in a particular area, although have always predominantly operated in the functional and user experience side of the test capability. I am a strong believer that my test skills and training are the foundations of how I work, and that the way I can provide an enhanced experience with our clients is through the soft skills I have developed during my career.

I also made a conscious decision not to specialise in any one technology stack, preferring instead to draw on my years of experience and apply best principals to the projects I am presented with. Maintaining a certain distance from the technology means that I can step back and ‘see the wood for the trees’, rather than approaching the project with any pre-conceptions.

What do you love about your job?

I like how I get to work closely with a wide variety of people, both internally and with clients. I have the freedom to work under my own initiative to help clients deliver their projects successfully.

I also love the challenge of making sure that the solution not only works technically, but also from a user perspective, and ensuring that quality isn’t sacrificed beyond acceptable limits when balanced with time and cost constraints.

What makes you great at your job?

I’ve been told that my ability to remain calm regardless of the circumstances is one of my strongest assets. I also believe I have strong communication skills and an ability to work well with all my colleagues. My origin in business analysis has also helped me to bring additional perspectives and value add to my role as a Test Consultant.

What do you love about your team?

I like the sense that we are all one team working together to support each other, rather than just being a collective group of individuals. Everyone is friendly, open, and acts with integrity, with a recognition that, as humans, we may make mistakes, and these are not punished, but seen as opportunities to learn from.

What do you love about working for Planit?

Planit has a very open and collaborative culture, and has been incredibly supportive of everyone, particularly over the last few years during the pandemic. I have had plenty of opportunities to develop and grow both personally and professionally, and I love the variety of work I am able to be a part of.

What's your favourite challenge solved in the line of duty?

I get great satisfaction from overcoming interpersonal challenges that may arise, be that having to deliver messages that may be unpalatable to stakeholders, or working with specific resources who may need to be challenged on their approach. I have worked with a few individuals who can be very focussed on what they believe is the right approach or solution, so getting them to open their minds to alternative options, even if the outcome is that we continue with their original proposal, is for me a great result.

What have you been doing in your free time recently?

One of my key passions is supporting my son with his kart racing. He races his own Senior Rotax kart at club level and I get no better enjoyment than watching him battle on track regardless of the result.

I also enjoy long dog walks with my wife and our Cockerpoo, especially on the beach or on holiday.

As an avid motorsport fan, I love settling down on the sofa to watch any form of racing, be it Formula 1 and British Touring Cars, British Superbikes and Moto GP, World RX, and more. The list is endless!

Interested in joining the Planit family? Visit our Careers page for a full listing of current opportunities across Australia, New Zealand, India, and the UK, and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram for the latest job updates.